


There Are Worse Things I Could Do

by writingthroughlife



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-08-27 11:02:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8399236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingthroughlife/pseuds/writingthroughlife
Summary: Steven Hyde really needed to pull his head out of his ass, and it would take a trip home for Veteran's Day for him to do it.





	1. Jackie in the Driveway with Diamonds

**November 6th, 1982**

**The Forman's Driveway**

**1:15 p.m**

“Eric, I still don’t understand why why had to come home for the barbecue 5 days early. I swear to god, if this is about the doll show in Kenosha tomorrow I will break up with you.” Donna shivered in the frigid Wisconsin air as Eric attempted to open the back door of his childhood home. He and Donna had been attending the University of Wisconsin for the past two years, but he still found an excuse to come home when he could.

“Why is it locked? This door is never locked! We have nothing to steal!” Eric complained as he frantically banged on the glass door. “Also, it’s an action figure convention, and I wasn’t able to get tickets.”

His girlfriend shook her head but went over to help him yank the door.

“Red probably found out that you were coming home to surprise him and changed the locks.” A new voice echoed from behind the couple. They spun around to face the grinning, curly hair man, who was holding his own suitcase.

“Hyde! Man, I had no idea you were coming out. Mom said she asked you to come to the barbecue but you never gave her a straight answer.” Eric grabbed his best friend and pulled him into a tight embrace. Hyde was silent for a few seconds before shaking him off.

“Yeah, okay Forman. I think Donna’s getting jealous.” The humor in his voice showed Eric that no mater what his zen friend might say, the hug was appreciated. “Speaking of Donna, whats with the hair? Decided to go back to Big Red?”

  
Donna shrugged and walked over to the two boys, looping her arm through Eric’s.

  
“Blonde is overrated. Plus, Jackie kept dropping little hints about how she hated my hair.”

  
“She would go up to her and tell her that she hated her hair.” Eric explained. “And I actually agree. I missed my smoking hot fire hydrant.” He began to nuzzle at Donna’s neck, apparently forgetting that they were not alone.

  
“You know, I think the PDA has gotten even worse since you got back together. I thought I couldn’t get anymore nauseated, but I was wrong.”

"Yeah, well you wouldn't know. You haven't really seen us at all since this summer. I keep telling you to visit for the weekend, but ypu always blow it off." 

  
“I didn’t want to burst in on your whole college experience. Besides, the store has been busy.” But Hyde looked down, unable to meet his friend’s gaze.

  
“Are you sure that’s the only reason?” Hyde looked up and glared. The young men stared into each others eyes, each threatening the other to raise an unspoken topic.

  
“What else would it be?”

  
“Donna!” A shrill voice pierced the tension filled air. “I walked all the way around the house but the front is locked too. Are you sure you don’t have a key? Because this outfit is meant to look pretty, not keep me warm.” Jackie Burkhart walked into the driveway of the Forman household with a pissed off glare and frozen fingers. She had joined Donna and Eric in Madison last year, insisting that she deserved more than a hair-sweeping job. She had even been working two jobs to help pay her tuition and rent for the apartment she shared with Donna and Eric.

  
“Jackie.” Hyde told himself he was only shaking because of the low temperature. It was a horrible excuse, but he had never been a very good liar.

  
“Hyde.” He was met with a stare that was colder then any Midwest winter, one that he could still not figure out how to thaw. His heart clenched as she spat out his last name in a disdainful voice, but he forced himself to ignore it.  
Thankfully, it was at that moment that an orange Toyota pulled into the driveway, saving him from any pathetic attempts at talking to Jackie.

  
“My babies!” Kitty Forman burst out of the car, almost falling over in her excitement. She reached Eric first, grabbing him into a tight embrace and jumping up and down excitedly. She then pulled Donna into the hug before releasing them both and running to Hyde.

  
“What are you dumbasses doing out here in the cold?” Red Forman muttered gruffly. “I changed the locks on the house as soon as I heard you were coming and you still can’t be scared away.”

  
“Mr. Forman!” Jackie is the first one to greet the older man, throwing her arms around his neck in a fashion that seemed to echo his wife’s hugs.

  
“Jackie. It’s good to see you again. You’re the only one with any sense around here, and I need some help looking at the Toyota’s engine.” He spoke without emotion, but the slight smile on his face and the fact that he had not forced her off him showed that he had missed the petite brunette.

  
“Oh my goodness, Jackie. We haven’t seen you in ages!” Hyde was almost positive that Mrs. Forman was glaring in his direction as she went to greet Jackie.

  
“I’m sorry Mrs. Forman, but I’ve had a lot of work to do. It’s hard being both smart and pretty at the same time.”

  
“Plus, her occupation as leader of Hell is really taxing.” Eric Forman piped up from the background.

  
“Well, I’m sure if anyone can do that all, you can.” Kitty giggled. “Now, I’ve been waiting for this ever since you gave me the news, so let’s see it!”

  
Jackie lifted up her left hand, and on the fourth finger laid a gigantic, sparking diamond.

* * *

 

**Eric Forman's Basement**

**2:00 p.m**

“Man, I forgot how disgusting my basement is.” Eric remarked as he descended the steps into the area where he had spent most of his childhood. “This is even worse than our apartment.”

  
“Yeah, even I can’t make it look prettier and my foxitude makes everything better!” Michael Kelso was perched on the deep freeze, holding a cherry popsicle and grinning like a madman.

  
“Kelso? What are you doing here man?”

  
“You think I was about to spend the best rocket launching holiday without my best buds? Who was gonna hose me off when I set myself on fire again?”

  
“I thought the Fourth of July was the best bottle rocket holiday.” Donna seemed disappointed that she even knew this information, but she asked the lovable moron anyway.

  
“Nuh-uh. Veteran’s Day is the best because all the veteran dudes tackle me when they hear the explosions.”

  
Man, Hyde had missed Kelso. His stupidity was entertainment on a whole new level.

  
“Michael, have you been sitting down here this whole time? I knocked on the basement door for like 5 minutes!” A very angry Jackie threw herself onto the couch and glared at her ex-boyfriend.

  
“Oh yeah. I saw it was you but I didn’t want to let you in alone just in case you decided that you wanted to do it with me. I’m with Brooke now so I can no longer be available for your endless pleasure.” Kelso patted the top of Jackie’s head affectionately.

  
Hyde now remembered all the reasons why he didn't miss Kelso. “Oh please Micheal. First of all, I can safely say that you were never there for my pleasure. And second of all, I’m engaged, so I why would I do it with you?” Jackie retorted.

  
“Come on Jackie, we both know that being with someone else hasn't stopped you from wanting me before." Kelso grinned wickedly at Hyde, who had to resist frogging him in the arm. Jackie shot an almost sympathetic look in his direction. It was a start.

  
“God, can we please stop talking about Jackie being ‘pleasured’?” Eric shuddered and held his stomach.

  
“Oh shut up Eric. You know, I have to actually listen to you and Donna doing it all the time and I don’t complain. Our walls are super thin you know!”

  
“Ooh, sexy.” Another voice drifted in from the stairwell. Fez struck a pose as his friends glanced over.  
Jackie smiled radiantly and got up to hug her friend. Their breakup had been one of the most amicable ones in existence, as it only took a week for them both to realize that their relationship was mainly founded on shared love of shoes and appreciation for Jackie’s beauty, not love. They still kept in touch and Fez had even been considering making the move down to Madison to open his own salon. None of this stopped Hyde from growing angry when he remembered their short-lived relationship.

  
“Jackie, you aren’t the only one subjected to the torture of those walls. Need I remind you that you aren’t necessarily the most quiet roommate when it comes to Adam?” Jackie’s boyfriend, er, fiancé, was a tool that Jackie had met her first year at UW. He was a blonde Kelso with bigger brains, better manners, and a much larger bank account. He worshiped the ground that Jackie walked on, and everyone in the gang loved him. But Hyde had successfully managed to avoid meeting him. “

Jackie, you are pretty loud." Hyde had no idea what motivated him to say that. "But I bet Adam can't make you scream as loud as I know you can." He was trying to be cocky, but the words sounded bitter when they left his mouth.  
The gang immediately to Jackie for her reply, expecting the worst.

"Oh no. You do not have any right to talk to me like that. You know absolutely nothing about me or what makes me happy anymore Hyde, and you never will again. You pathetic, worthless piece of human garbage and I wish that I had never met you!" Almost in tears, Jackie Burkhart ran angrily out of the basement as everyone else stared on in shock.

  
"Damn Hyde, I thought that I had messed her up." Kelso remarked from the corner. It took all of Hyde's strength not to throw his chair at him.

"I better go after her. Sometimes she tries to set my clothes on fire when she's upset." Donna rose and stared at Hyde uncomfortably. To the surprise of the rest of the room, Eric stood and walked toward the door instead.

"I got this one. See you guys later." Then he disappeared.


	2. And Another Hyde Bites the Dust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so sorry that is it's taken me forever to upload. I swear that Chapter Three will come much much faster. Enjoy!!!!

**November 6, 1982**

**Point Place Wisconsin**

**2:10 p.m**

“So Jackie and Eric are like… friends now?” Hyde was incredulous.“Are you sure he’s not just sleeping with her behind your back or something?”

“Yeah, I’m sure dillhole. Eric’s just really protective of her. I think he sees her as the slightly-less evil sister he never had.” Donna was still glaring at Hyde, but if he could just get her talking he might be able to figure out why Jackie had freaked.

“And Jackie tells him everything?” He was so obviously digging now, but hopefully Donna was too pissed off to notice.

“Yeah. I mean, he was the first one to know that she and Adam got engaged.” Now, Donna seemed to be the bitter one while Hyde was growing angry.

“Forman knew? Then how come I found out from the moron twins?”

“Hey! We told you in a totally respectful and kind way!” Fez protested.

“Really? Because I remember it much differently.”

**FLASHBACK**

Hyde was alone in the basement, with only his thoughts and a small stash to keep him company. He had expected to see Jackie last night for the Thanksgiving dinner that Mrs. Forman had thrown, but Eric had told him that she had gone to her boyfriends estate in Minneapolis. Eric wouldn't, or couldn't, look Hyde in his sunglasses covered eyes as he stammered out the excuse to the rest of the family. Hyde had assumed that it came from Forman's sympathy toward Hyde's (presumed) feelings for his ex-girlfriend, but as he waited for an hour for the scrawny boy to get off the phone with Jackie, the pit in his stomach grew larger. There had to be something that they weren't telling him. But when he asked if anything was wrong, Forman just shook his head and sputtered something about light sabers.

So here Hyde was, alone in his basement/home , with a cold beer and the hot weather girl from Channel 2. He only watched news channels with tall blondes now, but it had nothing to do with his deep fear confronting anything Jackie-related. Nothing at all. Suddenly, the basement door flew open, and Fez and Kelso walked in, arguing loudly.

"I should do it man! It's best to hear bad news from a pretty face."

"And your's is prettier than most my friend. But I believe this requires a gentler touch."

"Yeah? Well your mom has a gentle touch. BURN!"

"What are you ladies fighting about now?" Hyde finally spoke up, still sitting back in his chair. The two boys fell silent, looking at anything but him. "Well?"

"Well, you see, the thing is, you see..." Fez stammered incomprehensibly.

"I got this buddy." Micheal Kelso patted his foreign friend on the back, and took a deep breathe. "Everybody who's ex-girlfriend didn't just get engaged take a step back NOT SO FAST HYDE!"

The basement was still for a moment before Hyde calmly stood up and grabbed his can of beer. His friends only stared as he slowly walked into his room.

"Wait! Hyde!" Fez called after him. The curly haired boy turned around and cocked an eyebrow. "I just want to make sure that you understood what Kelso is saying. He is trying to tell you that a very attractive, rich man has offered to take care of our beautiful Jackie for the rest of her life. Including all of her sexual needs. And she has said yes."

"Yeah Fez. I got that. Thanks." With that, Hyde shut the door to his room soundly.

Fez and Kelso merely looked at each other and shrugged before heading outside to see who could eat the most bugs without throwing up. Neither one heard the sound of several pieces of furniture being hurled against the wall in their friend's room.

**PRESENT DAY**

"So that's how Mrs. Forman's chairs got broken. You smashed them against the wall! She kept implying that I broke them by sitting on them!" Donna huffed angrily.

"Yeah, whatever. I just don't get why Forman didn't tell me about this whole Jackie thing."

“Well, for starters, I didn't thing that you even deserved to know." Eric's voice drifted in from the basement doorway. He was clearly angry, because his whole body was twitchy the way it was when he talked about Han Solo and Princess Leia.

"What the hell does that mean?" Now Hyde was the angry one. This weekend was supposed to be a time of beer and barbecue and more beer. Now Forman was turning it into a therapy talk show with all of his drama.

"It means that I thought that Jackie shouldn't even tell you that she was getting married. I thought she should just go out and do it and come home and rub it in your face. Sound familiar?" Now, all Hyde was thinking about was how damaging to their friendship it would be to punch Eric in the face.

"Really man? That's where you want to go with this?" He was pissed at Forman for bringing up the past, but even more pissed at himself for doing the things that Eric was talking about.

"Yeah, that's where I'm going. You know, Jackie wrote me every single day when I was in Africa. I heard about every shitty thing that you said or did. You pushed her into a freezing river man. And I didn't say anything about it when I got home, because you're my brother and I forgive you for everything. But two years later and you are still being horrible to her. So yeah, I'm not on your side for this one And neither is anyone else." The pounding in Hyde's head grew louder. It screamed that he was a bad person, that Eric was right and that he should pay for what he did. Hyde always tried to ignore that voice.

"Wow Forman, I didn't know you cared so much. I'm surprised you didn't just tell Jackie to run away. Because that's how you solve all your problems isn't it? You ran away from your wedding, you ran away to Africa. Shouldn't you and Jackie be in some third-world country right now, teaching monkeys how to read fucking braille?" He knew the words were harsh as he said them, but angry Hyde didn't listen. Angry Hyde hated thinking things through, which is how he had gotten into this fucked up situation in the first place. He had married a goddamn stripper when he was pissed off.

Out of no where, a fist collided with his face. He fell down, not from the force, but from the shock. Eric was standing over him, holding his hand and cursing under his breath. The he looked at the boy on the ground in front of him.

"You know what Hyde, you really do have to learn how to shut the hell up." Without another word, he walked out of the basement, Fez and Kelso in tow. Donna helped Hyde up, but only looked at him with eyes that were half pitiful, half angry. Finally, she too left him alone, rubbing his jaw.

Hyde reached into the freezer to grab something that would numb the pain. He pulled out a popsicle and stuck it to his face. When that got too cold, he took it off and looked down at the wrapper. "'JELL-O Pudding Pops'." He shook his head and dropped it on the ground. "Perfect. Just perfect."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's not very long but it goes deeper into the background of Jackie and Eric's relationship (they are my BROTP), and also Hyde's inner thoughts. I promise the next one will be better and longer. Feel free to leave any suggestions!!

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this is horrid, or if my characterization is off but it's my first T7S fanfic! Feel free to leave any comments or thoughts, I thrive off constructive criticism. Next chapter should be up in about a week!


End file.
